A Japanese-Australian community leader said Thursday that he filed a racial discrimination complaint against a Sydney church that he said intimidated Japanese nationals by erecting a memorial to women forced to work as sex slaves by Japan’s World War II army.
Tetsuhide Yamaoka, president of the Australia-Japan Community Network, said he had complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission about the prominent display of a statue of a so-called comfort woman from Korea in the grounds of...(read more)

Leaders of the European Union meet in Brussels Thursday for a summit that follows a turbulent year for the 28-member group, as questions loom over the integrity and future of the organization.
Among the top challenges to be addressed at the one-day meeting in Brussels Thursday will be whether to continue sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, Europe’s migrant crisis, and Britain’s decision last June to leave the EU.
May to leave early
British Prime Minister Theresa May is scheduled...(read more)

Humanity is growing and wildlife is shrinking. The U.N. estimates that by 2050 the global population will increase to 9.6 billion. At the same time scientists and conservationists are fighting to preserve more than 16,000 threatened species of wildlife, from orangutans to giraffes. VOA's George Putic reports.... (read more)

In an unexpected move, President Barack Obama has declined to sign legislation renewing sanctions against Iran but has let it become law anyway.
Obama faced a midnight deadline to sign the 10-year renewal of the decades-old sanctions law. The White House had said that Obama was expected to sign it.
But White House press secretary Josh Earnest says Obama is letting it become law without his signature, saying Obama retains authority to waive all nuclear sanctions lifted as part of the...(read more)

While people can be imprisoned or even put to death for political satire in some countries, it is protected in the U.S. by the First Amendment to the Constitution. In recent years, political satire has been prominent on late-night television shows with jokes targeting politicians, including American presidents. VOA's Deborah Block has more.... (read more)

Since Taiwan industrialized in the 1960s, its workers have strived to do whatever their employers asked, including putting in free overtime, out of fear of being replaced.
“We wanted to contribute to our company, and in return, we want the company to respond in positive ways to our contributions,” said Chou Hsun-Rong, 43, a worker at a bonding material factory in suburban Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, who says he has long sacrificed personal time for the sake of his job.
Many...... (read more)

Oil prices are falling again after a recent rise to $56 a barrel, the highest in 18 months. There are concerns that an oil glut and a stronger dollar may lead to another drop in crude oil prices. VOA discussed the global oil situation with Secretary General of OPEC Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo. Zlatica Hoke reports.... (read more)

It's been more than two years since Ferguson, Missouri, was rocked by violence after a white police officer killed African-American Michael Brown. While the officer was cleared of any wrongdoing, the case led to a federal investigation that uncovered racial bias within the city's police department. VOA's Chris Simkins reports from Ferguson on the progress the city has made since the unrest.... (read more)

Pakistan's northwestern territory has been home to the Gandhara civilization since ancient times. It is known for its art of stone carving. But over the past decade, the ancient art of stone carving has come under threat -- as a result of escalating violence, extremists and instability in the region. Ayesha Gilani has more in this report.... (read more)

The NBA and its players have agreed in principle on a new collective bargaining agreement, one that still needs to be ratified by players and owners in the coming weeks.
The league announced the tentative agreement Wednesday night, one day before the sides faced a deadline for opting out of the current deal.
That deadline for opting out has now been extended to January 13, with the NBA saying that's “in order to give both sides enough time to review the terms of the agreement and...... (read more)

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden added his voice Wednesday to growing calls for President-elect Donald Trump to be more open to the intelligence community and to embrace findings that may be at odds with his personal beliefs.
"It's not just a question of the Russian hacking and his seeming reluctance to accept what appears to be good evidence that the Russians did this," Hayden said, referring to a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to...... (read more)

Syrian rebels said late Wednesday that a new agreement has been reached to evacuate civilians and wounded war victims from eastern Aleppo, and that refugees are expected to begin leaving the rebel-held sector within hours.
Rebel sources in Aleppo and U.N. workers in the area confirmed the report of a new cease-fire, but Syrian government officials said they were unaware of any agreement, and that negotiations were still underway. If the evacuation proceeds, the end of resistance in Aleppo...(read more)

Three children from the Iraqi city of Kirkuk are orphaned after their father was killed in a recent Islamic State attack and their mother, overwhelmed by the loss, then committed suicide. VOA’s Dlasha Omar reports.... (read more)

The panel that rules on election disputes in Somalia has thrown out the results in races for 11 seats in recent parliamentary elections because of numerous irregularities, including gunfire at a polling place.
The decision by the Independent Electoral Disputes Resolution Mechanism is likely to further complicate Somalia's attempt to hold a presidential election by the end of the year.
Among those whose election win was nullified is Youth and Sports Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan...(read more)

Rising sea levels are causing more and more frequent floods in many U.S. coastal communities. The upsurge in floods is hurting home sales, sparking soaring insurance rates, and spawning a new industry aimed at limiting damage and costs. And as VOA’s Jim Randle reports, experts worry the situation is getting worse.... (read more)

Leaders of the European Union meet Thursday in Brussels for a summit fraught with disputes on how to handle the many crises they face, bar on possibly the biggest rift of all — how to handle Brexit.
After a day of talks on migrants, Turkey, Russia, defense in the era of Donald Trump and the euro zone economy in the age of austerity, leaders will see British Prime Minister Theresa May out and then agree over dinner how to get rid of her for good.
Diplomats and officials involved in...... (read more)

Japan's parliament passed a law on Thursday to legalize casinos, ending 15 years of political argument and opening the way for projects that combine high-stakes gambling with hotels, shopping and conference space.
As few as three casinos could generate nearly $10 billion in net profit annually, Daiwa Research Institute estimated, equivalent to 0.2 percent of Japan's gross domestic product.
Still, casinos will not be in operation until 2022-23 at the earliest, gaming executives...(read more)

Hosting a daylong summit for the My Brother's Keeper program, President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged more people to become mentors and said that's what he would do after leaving office next month.
In a bid to break down barriers, the nation's first African-American president launched My Brother's Keeper in 2014 to help narrow the opportunity gap for boys and young men of color, including through increasing high school graduation and employment rates.
Obama, hosting...... (read more)

As boys growing up on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, Mahmud Hassani and his brother Massoud saw firsthand the damage land mines did to anyone unlucky enough to stumble across them.
It was the memory of the destruction caused by land mines left over from the 1980s — when Afghan rebels fought Soviet forces — that inspired the brothers to develop a drone prototype to detect and destroy the explosive devices.
Their invention was featured Wednesday in the NT100, a list by...... (read more)

The U.S. oil and gas industry on Wednesday welcomed President-elect Donald Trump's choice of former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, and wasted no time making its first specific request of him: to support increased exports of America's natural gas overseas.
Trump named Perry as his pick for the top U.S. energy job on Wednesday morning, handing the portfolio to a climate change skeptic with close ties to the oil and gas industry, and who previously...(read more)

China's environment impact assessment (EIA) agencies will sever all connections with local governments by year-end to avoid conflicts of interest and help bolster the environment ministry's battle against rampant air, water and soil pollution.
Citing the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the official Xinhua news agency said late Thursday that 337 EIA agencies had already been de-coupled from local government or been disbanded. The remaining 13 will be detached this...... (read more)

We’re in the mix with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending December 17, 2016.
Christmas came early for one of our artists this week, as every one of the songs on his new album appears on the Hot 100 chart.
Number 5: Bruno Mars "24K Magic"
We'll talk about that a bit later; right now let’s bring on Bruno Mars, who steps back a slot to fifth place with the title cut from his 24 K Magic album.
On December...... (read more)

This is the season when ballet companies in the United States present "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky. The holiday classic tells the story of a young girl whose favorite Christmas gift, a nutcracker, comes alive and whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.
The original story takes place in Germany, during a Christmas party of an upper class Victorian family. But some companies give it a different spin. Here in the nation’s capital, the...... (read more)

European creditors on Wednesday pulled a recently announced debt relief package for Greece in protest against subsequent spending measures announced by Athens.
Greek stocks fell sharply and the government's borrowing rates jumped as investors fretted over a potential flare-up in the country's bailout problems and the possibility of early elections in the country.
The main stock market in Athens closed down 3.2 percent, while the yield on the country's 10-year bond rose 0.28...... (read more)

A new generation of Country musicians - mostly young and female - is changing the look of fashion in Music City with clothing lines designed with fans in mind.
Fashion has tended to be exaggerated and designed for the screen or the stage. Consider Dolly Parton's body-hugging denim and rhinestones, Loretta Lynn's sparkly ball gowns, or Shania Twain's midriff-bearing leopard outfit.
"I think Country artists, mainly women, have always really dressed...... (read more)